The Astronomy of Middle Earth…
April is Astronomy Month this year at the AAVSO. In celebration we're holding several free "webinars" with prominent astronomers from all over. Most of these webinars are of interest to astronomers, but there is one coming up that I think is going to have a lot of cross pollination among my friends which is why I'm talking about it here.
At 7:00PM Monday, 23 April (2300UT) Professor Kristine Larsen of Central Connecticut State University will present "The Astronomy of Middle Earth" as an AAVSO webinar. This will be interactive, and you'll be able to ask questions. They'll even be door prizes!
Dr. Larsen, a former AAVSO Councillor (member of the Board of Directors), is a noted teacher and a prolific writer. What she writes in an academic environment gives her Geek credentials for, oh, light years! Her books include The Mythological Dimensions of Neil Gaiman, The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who (I have a signed copy of this one!), and Stephen Hawking: A Biography.
OK, so why can she lecture on Middle Earth? Dr. Larsen is a highly published member of the Tolkien Society and the North East Tolkien Society with published articles on this subject that include "Tree of Life or Tree of Death? Science and Sin in Middle-Earth" and "Myth, Milky Way, and the Mysteries of Tolkien’s Morwinyon, Telumendil, and Anarimma." Yea, take a look at that last title. Unless you've memorized the Silmarilion, you can't even pronounce it!
Invited talks have included "Moon Runes, The Light of Earendil, and Durin's Crown: The Astronomy of Middle-earth." I won't even go into what she's written about Harry Potter. And these things aren't published in fanzines, folks. No, Dr. Larsen has writing credits in the Journal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and has lectured about "Hobbits, Hogwarts, and the Heavens: the Use of Fantasy Literatures and Films in Astronomy Education and Outreach" to the United Nations and the International Astronomical Union.
She knows Middle Earth nearly as well as Tolkien, and could teach Rowling a couple of things about Harry Potter. She's a valued mentor having won CCSU's Excellence in Teaching Award as well as being on the CCSU's Teaching Excellence Honor Roll and has been Director of the CCSU Honors Program. At the same time she's positioned herself as a noted expert on the history of women in astronomy.
OK, so how do you get in on this Gasm of Geek Talks? The webinar is free, but you do need to register for it by going here and filling out the form. The system requirements for the webinar include both Windows and MacOS X. Sorry, Linux isn't supported. Yes, you can yell at me. Yes, I'm working on it. The talk will be archived and available for viewing a day after the webinar is done at the same page as the schedule links.
Come spend this coming Monday evening looking at the stars as Samwise saw them as he walked to Rivendell to see the Elves, and get a chance to ask questions about those stars of Middle Earth from someone who knows them as well as Gandalf himself. It should be - dare I say it? - a stellar evening!
At 7:00PM Monday, 23 April (2300UT) Professor Kristine Larsen of Central Connecticut State University will present "The Astronomy of Middle Earth" as an AAVSO webinar. This will be interactive, and you'll be able to ask questions. They'll even be door prizes!
Dr. Larsen, a former AAVSO Councillor (member of the Board of Directors), is a noted teacher and a prolific writer. What she writes in an academic environment gives her Geek credentials for, oh, light years! Her books include The Mythological Dimensions of Neil Gaiman, The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who (I have a signed copy of this one!), and Stephen Hawking: A Biography.
OK, so why can she lecture on Middle Earth? Dr. Larsen is a highly published member of the Tolkien Society and the North East Tolkien Society with published articles on this subject that include "Tree of Life or Tree of Death? Science and Sin in Middle-Earth" and "Myth, Milky Way, and the Mysteries of Tolkien’s Morwinyon, Telumendil, and Anarimma." Yea, take a look at that last title. Unless you've memorized the Silmarilion, you can't even pronounce it!
Invited talks have included "Moon Runes, The Light of Earendil, and Durin's Crown: The Astronomy of Middle-earth." I won't even go into what she's written about Harry Potter. And these things aren't published in fanzines, folks. No, Dr. Larsen has writing credits in the Journal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and has lectured about "Hobbits, Hogwarts, and the Heavens: the Use of Fantasy Literatures and Films in Astronomy Education and Outreach" to the United Nations and the International Astronomical Union.
She knows Middle Earth nearly as well as Tolkien, and could teach Rowling a couple of things about Harry Potter. She's a valued mentor having won CCSU's Excellence in Teaching Award as well as being on the CCSU's Teaching Excellence Honor Roll and has been Director of the CCSU Honors Program. At the same time she's positioned herself as a noted expert on the history of women in astronomy.
OK, so how do you get in on this Gasm of Geek Talks? The webinar is free, but you do need to register for it by going here and filling out the form. The system requirements for the webinar include both Windows and MacOS X. Sorry, Linux isn't supported. Yes, you can yell at me. Yes, I'm working on it. The talk will be archived and available for viewing a day after the webinar is done at the same page as the schedule links.
Come spend this coming Monday evening looking at the stars as Samwise saw them as he walked to Rivendell to see the Elves, and get a chance to ask questions about those stars of Middle Earth from someone who knows them as well as Gandalf himself. It should be - dare I say it? - a stellar evening!